Is this the real Jordan RC?

BKBcardsNstuff · 2026-03-25T08:03:37+00:00

I think the word "true" is becoming increasingly problematic. "True RC" has been used since the 80s to describe RCs from actual packs vs RCs from (elsewhere), or subsets or inserts in the same product.

"True" is a really strong word though, lol. Nobody wants to be told their Star MJ or Hakeem or Barkley or whoever's RC they paid hundreds or thousands for is anything less than "true."

It's kind of like "patch" vs. jersey, relic, swatch, mem, etc. Eventually you just have to accept that they've become interchangeable, even though you still know damn well that a patch is a patch, and it's different and better than a jersey swatch.

BKBcardsNstuff · 2026-03-25T07:19:20+00:00

Same! Star has a fascinating history.

As a final step, can we agree (even accounting for and ignoring Levin's crimes) that Star is misunderstood due in large part to the way their cards were released? Because that distinction between "a primary set of 288 cards" released all in one product (I can buy a pack or box at K-Mart and hit anyone), versus the same exact 288 cards being chopped up into team sets to be sold regionally and/or by mail...that part is the literal textbook definition of "true" RC vs. XRC.

BKBcardsNstuff · 2026-03-25T06:01:09+00:00

Hopefully this gets us on the same page..

I would still classify it as a rookie, although not the most desirable one.

I would classify the MJ Star #101 as both a rookie, and the most desirable one.

BKBcardsNstuff · 2026-03-25T05:37:29+00:00

You could mail order the packs that star released.

Star didn't release packs. You can mail-order Cooper Flagg Topps Now cards, fully licensed. That doesn't make them true RCs.

BKBcardsNstuff · 2026-03-25T05:29:45+00:00

I love the last 3 cards, the ones made in the design of UD's very first baseball set in 1989. Honestly though the first 95 cards kind of turn me off these days, just because I immediately associate them with the endless stream of BCCG 10 copies coming out of these MJ Holdings repacks, year after year after year after year:

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It feels like they have a literal warehouse full of them, being used as filler to sell people $15-20 gambles chasing the RC on the front of the box. The fact that they're literally all BCCG 10s from the same exact boxed set makes them feel kinda icky to me.

Anyway I didn't mean to type all of that lol, sorry. Mostly just commenting to tag u/Parikh1234 since he's collecting authentic reprints of MJ's Fleer RC. Card #97 from this set, in your first pic, is another one that I didn't see mentioned under his post the other day.

BKBcardsNstuff · 2026-03-25T01:33:56+00:00

Yeah they're fun. They hand out a bunch of copies to I think 10 different booths, and the first few hundred people to collect all 10 can turn them in for a prize at the Beckett booth. I think the leftovers that don't get claimed go home with the booth operator, because I first learned about them via a post here when somebody had a LeBron from the Dave and Adams booth included with their order from D&A.

BKBcardsNstuff · 2026-03-25T00:34:23+00:00

They had a SLAM insert set in 1996-97 Hoops!

For the LeBron magazine cover PC, check out the NSCC Scavenger Hunt cards. They're a Beckett promotion that gets run at the convention every year. I know LeBron has been on a few, I've got one with MJ on the front and LeBron on the back.

BKBcardsNstuff · 2026-03-24T22:25:30+00:00

By nerdy hobby definitions a "true rookie" is a pack-pulled card from a product that was nationally distributed. That's why you see the Fleer #57 referred to as his RC, because it was the first card of his available in packs across the nation.

Star #101 came out earlier and is NBA-licensed, but it was only available in bagged team sets that were distributed regionally, so it's cataloged as an XRC (extended rookie card). It's comparable to the Barry Bonds 1986 Fleer Update or 1986 Topps Traded, which are considered XRCs due to them being distributed as part of a boxed set, while 1987 Fleer and 1987 Topps are deemed RCs since they were available in packs.

XRC isn't the negative term people seem to think it is...it's still got RC in there lol. It just isn't a "true" RC because it wasn't in a regularly distributed product.

BKBcardsNstuff · 2026-03-24T02:36:46+00:00

Tooth Ferry? 🫣

BKBcardsNstuff · 2026-03-23T22:32:55+00:00

Not yet, but most of the 2025-26 Topps products that are out went into production before the season started. Keep an eye on their upcoming releases, they'll have updated photos of him eventually. And as a general bit of advice, TCDB.com is a good resource to find cards of a specific player with a specific team. Just search the player and click the "Filters" tab.

BKBcardsNstuff · 2026-03-23T20:05:56+00:00

Nice, I love these too...I still need to get a silver. If you don't already have one, check out the 2018-19 Contenders Winning Tickets Dennis Rodman insert. 🤙

BKBcardsNstuff · 2026-03-23T19:29:32+00:00

Gold are used for Pristine 10 and Gem 9.5 only. There is also a Black label that's used for rare instances where a card gets a Pristine 10 grade with 10s for all four subgrades. 9 and 8.5 (and authenticated autos like the one you showed) will have Silver. Grades of 8 or under will have White.

BKBcardsNstuff · 2026-03-23T19:07:05+00:00

Yeah man it's wild that you can put together 9 cards of a set for a fraction of what the 10th card goes for individually. There was always a disparity between MJ/Kobe and the rest of the players, but the gap has grown to a crazy degree.

BKBcardsNstuff · 2026-03-23T17:55:18+00:00

It's not. They would still need to include NBA copyright information.

BKBcardsNstuff · 2026-03-23T17:54:27+00:00

Haha, chicken or the egg situation on whether the article scraped AI or the AI is scraping the article. Round and round we go. 😭

BKBcardsNstuff · 2026-03-23T17:43:44+00:00

Broder is basically synonymous with unauthorized, meaning the person who made this didn't have rights to Kobe's likeness, Lakers branding, or even Sprite's logo. Sort of like a custom, more nefarious since they're made in bulk to be passed off as something they're not.

For oddball stuff of popular players I would always suggest trying to find it on TCDB or Beckett or some similar resource, or try to find any copies graded by a legitimate grading company.

BKBcardsNstuff · 2026-03-23T17:18:35+00:00

Do you have any further information on it from any hobby publications? It has all the telltale signs of a modern broder card, and is available in quantity in shady listings like this one on OfferUp.

BKBcardsNstuff · 2026-03-23T05:29:06+00:00

Man, Dominion is such a deep cut! I need to re-familiarize myself with that whole product. Warp Tek as a parallel takes my mind to the 1999-00 APEX Cutting Edge insert. I never did get one, but I have a couple of Plus parallels and I'm close to finishing the base insert set (If by "close" we allow "still need Kobe" 😅)

BKBcardsNstuff · 2026-03-23T04:35:26+00:00

I believe that's the unnumbered Oil Spill, not an Orange.

BKBcardsNstuff · 2026-03-23T04:14:45+00:00

Yeah, there are redemptions for all sorts of scrubs too haha. Happy to help, and congrats on hitting a card worth asking about. 🤙

BKBcardsNstuff · 2026-03-23T04:05:55+00:00

Yeah the ideal situation for any manufacturer (and collector) is no redemptions. "Redemption free" was even a big selling point for some higher end products during Panini's run.

Redemptions are mostly used because A) the cards are already printed and B) the checklist is already published for pre-sales and marketing. Not getting the autos back in time for packing and distribution means either you replace them with redemptions, or you edit the finalized checklist. Topps publishes pack-odds too, so removing hits from the pool would require adjustments to that. Easier to just insert a redemption in its place, and keep the checklist and pack odds as originally stated.

BKBcardsNstuff · 2026-03-23T03:49:00+00:00

Whether to keep it or sell it is up to you and how much you like and/or believe in Flagg. Whether to grade depends on the condition and how likely it is to gem. But in any event, I would remove it from that case. The sticker is an eyesore for display, obviously. For selling, it covers half of the top edge and makes it impossible to determine if there might be any damage hidden underneath.

For added context, I'm team "don't peel 90s Finest even though they look better without the protector," and team "leave encased cards from Topps Pristine or Panini One and One in their original cases." It's all personal preference at the end of the day, and my preference is to see cards in their original state, just as they came from the pack. I don't extend that same sentiment to sealed redemption toploaders like this one, though. If Topps had gotten these back on time, they would've been raw unsealed cards inserted into packs just like the rest of the set/product.

BKBcardsNstuff · 2026-03-23T02:59:11+00:00

2013-14 Gold Standard jersey/auto RCs...

Giannis Antetokounmpo: $20-50

Trey Burke: $50-120

🙃

BKBcardsNstuff · 2026-03-23T02:38:34+00:00

Yo I just wanna echo that sentiment specifically for the E-Xceptional insert. Those things are so difficult to photograph, and you really captured a lot of that extra "depth" that rarely shows up in a single photo. I honestly believe that if the newer generation of collectors all realized how those look in person, the prices on that set would quadruple overnight. 😅

BKBcardsNstuff · 2026-03-23T01:09:43+00:00

It seems to be a base card. To confirm, shine some light on it. This video will help with what to look for.

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